‘He called an hour before the floods hit’: 16 Telangana NRIs missing in Nepal floods

The family of Sai Prasad Somayajulu, a 60-year-old Canadian resident of Hyderabad and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, is anxiously awaiting news about him. Days before his trek to Kailash Mansarovar, Somayajulu made multiple visits to his apartment complex to ensure he could navigate the challenging trails. His nephew Praveen revealed that the 60-year-old had spent hours climbing 14 flights of stairs in anticipation of the treacherous journey.

However, Somayajulu remains one of the 16 Telangana NRIs who have been missing since the flash floods struck Tibet and Nepal. The death toll from the disaster, caused by an earthquake and an avalanche, has reached over 450, while hundreds are still unaccounted for, and rescue operations are ongoing. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, 288 individuals, primarily pilgrims, have been reported missing.

Somayajulu's family last heard from him an hour before the floods struck, as he was at the Nepal-China border immigration office. Since then, his phone has been off, leaving his family concerned. The families of other NRIs with foreign passports are grappling with bureaucratic hurdles in their pursuit to locate their loved ones.

Despite these challenges, some of those previously untraceable have managed to reach out to their families. For instance, Alli Ilasha, a 35-year-old businessman in Hyderabad, called his sister to inform her that he had managed to move 40 km ahead of the landslide. Similarly, Aparna Kakani, a woman traveler from Guntur, has been found safe after her friend received a text message from her, confirming her safety.

Additionally, a group of 28 people from Tirupati has been located in Kathmandu, currently staying at a hotel.